Bring, bring. Bring, bring. It’s the phone. “Hello. Charles Morgan here. I need you to take your test Morgan Plus 8 to the Goodwood Festival of Speed and drive it up the hill. Try to do it quickly, put on a show. It’s insured. Just enjoy it. Goodbye.”

And that was that. No time for me to mention I’ve never driven up the hill at speed. Or that a shunt would mean I’d be walking home. Time to man up, fire up the V8 and do my best in the Michelin Supercar run.

Truth be told, the Morgan felt a bit of a minnow alongside the McLaren P1, Ferrari F12 et al but, as Autocar readers will know, this car’s charm is that it blends heart-racing performance with a loveable charm that no high-end exotic could match. At least that’s what I told myself.

Mindful that I didn’t know where I was going, I opted to dump the clutch off the line, get as much wheelspin as I could muster without risking the tyre legality and then...well, fluff the gearchange from first to second if truth be told. I did my best, but I’ll hold my hand up and admit the car deserved better.

From thereon it was case of trying to keep the car in as low a gear as possible, as the engine noise was always going to be more entertaining than me trying to chase another tenth out of Molecombe. Ahead was a Maserati Gran Turismo and Ferrari F12. Behind the differently mind-blowing VW XL1. If nothing else, I’d like to think the Plus 8 added some variety.

(c) That children shouldn't be allowed to edit - yes, edit! - such an institution as Autocar which, under your editorship, has seen it sink to beaneath Auto Express quality in my opinion. It's a shadow of its former self. Where is the talent in the industry? Hardly rich pickings based on this effort.